The time has come now that 20% of prompt taxpayers will be burdened with more taxes and those who have eluded and worse still have broken every rule in the book go scott free.GHMC is launching huge tax collection drive[report below] without any proper authentic database in hand and they have not computerized the 18 municipal circles and now they are hell bent on burdening "YOU" without proper documentation and double taxation,more so there has never been an EXTERNAL AUDIT ON GHMC 'S FINANCIAL RECORDS TILL DATE and the funds they collect are HUGE and there is no proper audit for it.RIDICULOUS !!!. So its time all of us come under UFERWAS and give a strong message to GHMC to computerise its data first ,audit its collections and taxes later.Else we end up paying taxes for the 80% of the civic miscreants and this will go on so its TIME FOR CHANGE AND ACCOUNTABILITY AT ALL THE 18 MUNICIPAL CIRCLES and all the GHMC staff should be made mandatory to respond to online grievances , Kindly contact your nearest UFERWAS coordinator, and for GHMC ALWAL Circle please contact GAASA
contactgaasa@gmail.com

Regards
Ashwin Nallari

Report :GHMC to get cracking on tax

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Now that the general elections work has been completed successfully, the GHMC has begun to focus on steps to come out of its dire financial state. As per the resolve expressed earlier, property tax collection exercise is to begin right away.

Officials of the 18 circles have been directed to get cracking on un-assessed and under-assessed properties as per the information gathered on verification of a checklist prepared in each area. The checklist has data on the precise amounts collected, actual demand, balance amounts, defaulters and the likes.

Commissioner S.P. Singh and Special Commissioner M.T. Krishna Babu in a meeting held with all the circle level deputy municipal commissioners on Wednesday ordered them to compare the available household data with each of them with that of data available with the Central Power Distribution Company limited (CPDCL) for billing its customers.

While each house could have more than one power connection, officials are of the impression that it would not be much of a problem to sift them out once the entire data is collected to get the actual position of un-assessed and under-assessed properties to garner the tax.

“Our plan is to target these two sections to improve our revenue collections rather than rely on raising taxes,” remarked a senior official. A pilot study taken up in all the five zones of the 18 circles had revealed that tax avoidance was almost to the tune of Rs. 3-4 crore from both un-assessed and under-assessed properties with west zone (Serilingampally and environs) alone accounting to Rs. 1.5 crore.

The preliminary study was taken up after jumbling areas of bill collectors and also assistance of a private agency. It was also decided to take up corrections in the properties details in the head office henceforth unlike the circle offices earlier to prevent any mischief or discrepancy, officials disclosed.

The Commissioners wanted circle officers to divide properties into three categories and concentrate first on a category where the possibility of high tax coming in is more. The other two categories could tackled subsequently was the reasoning.Importantly, property tax bills for the current financial year are to be raised and sent in June itself and these will be fresh ones armed with information gathered from applications submitted for the Building Penalisation Scheme (BPS) to calculate the tax rate.

GHMC Fraudsters posing as GHMC officials are fleecing people in the name of “government taxes”R ahul, a 28-year-old R Microsoft employee was R getting a wall construct R ed on his plot at Kalyan R they were from GHMC threatened to penalise us for putting up tents without permission. When my dad asked them for their ID card they fled as they realised they could be caught.” Nagar, when three officious “GHMC personnel” approached him and threatened to slap a penalty of Rs 35,000 for “illegal construction”. The hassled NRI was told that his wall would be razed to the ground the next day, unless he paid a bribe of Rs 5,000 for a government “certificate”.

Suspecting something fishy, Rahul contacted the nearest municipal office, only to find out that the authorities hadn’t sent out any official to collect any fee.These “officials”, who are desperate to make a quick buck, don’t spare celebrations either.Dheeraj Mahapatra, an employee of Airtel customer care, says, “We set up two tents outside our house and put up lights as there was a wedding in the family.

Two officials who claimed Alarmed GHMC officials point out that these are not isolated cases. Incidents where imposters posing as government officials tried to take citizens for a ride ar becoming increasingly common.

Owners of new establishments in upmarket areas and unsuspecting citizens who are getting their homes constructed in residential areas are the most easy targets. These imposters arrive unannounced and demand “GHMC Fees” for anything from planting saplings on the street to putting up sign boards at establishments or fixing a ‘No Trespassing’ sign on plots.“Disturbed” by this trend, M.T.Krishna Babu, special commissioner, GHMC, warns people to be wary of “imposters”. “

Only assistant medical officers of health (AMOH) and tax officers are authorised to go to any premises to collect taxes. Every citizen must ask anyone who claims to be e an official to furnish their ID card,” he says.

Shweta, the owner of a swanky salon in Jubilee Hills, almost fell prey to one such “imposter.” “We paid an advertising fee of Rs 8,000 to an official agent from GHMC collected who proved his identity. The very next day, two men who claimed to be GHMC officials came to us and gave us a bill quoting double the amount towards the same fee.Alarmed, we asked them to show us their ID cards.They got flustered and told us they’ll come back later and fled from the scene,” she says.

P. Anuradha additional commissioner for advertising, GHMC says, “Only personnel from an authorised agency with proper ID cards visit establishments after giving prior notice.Strict action will be taken against such imposters who are trying to fleece people in the name of GHMC.”
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Narayana Murthy's 5 success mantras for entrepreneurs

What five things should young entrepreneurs do to succeed?

I have talked about it in the book, too. The five things are:

1. You must have an idea whose value to the market should be expressible in a simple sentence, not a complex or a compound sentence. . .;

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3. The market must be ready for your idea. If the market is not ready for your idea, doesn't matter how smart your idea is, you will not succeed.

4. You need a good value system, because entrepreneurship in the beginning is all about sacrifice, hard work, deferred gratification, disappointments. It is the value system that creates confidence in each member of the community that other members too are doing the same to make this company succeed. . .

5. You need funds. . . but that is easy, finance is not a problem.
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Renting a house? A legal checklist
Abitha Deepak, BankBazaar.com

May 11, 2009 17:58 IST

You often hear people say, "nothing like living under your own roof!" Of course, this is applied in different contexts and living in a rented house is one of them.

A good landlord who does not bother you much and who does the needful when needed is a blessing not many have. Neither is a good tenant, who takes care of the house properly is a frequently seen sight.

However, there are certain things within your control when you find yourself scouting for a rented house.

Here are some basic guidelines, which should keep you out of trouble. Rental laws again differ from state to state and hence these guidelines are restricted to some general laws.

The verification of these documents are critical, though commercial establishments that take office premises have a legal team to handle the formalities often the lone individual in search of a comfy apartment does not often realize the significance of such things nor do they actually get a chance to verify these details.

Below is a list of important house credentials that can be verified by the person renting the place.

a. Title documents: This is proof that the person renting or leasing out the premises is the actual owner of the place.

b. Share certificates: If the place rented out is part of a co-operative society or colony, share certificates also need to checked.

c. Electricity bills: It is generally in the owner's name.

d. Verification of built-up area of the dwelling place: This is done by a qualified architect.

e. No-objection certificate: This is a certificate that specifies conditions for rent/lease, some do not allow bachelors and may have other forms of bias that is defined in the document.

Rental Agreement

There are several aspects in the lease agreement that you need to be careful about. However, three most significant aspects gain priority over the rest. These include the licence period, the consistency of the license fee through the entire license period, clarity on costs associated with the house such as municipal taxes, society fees and charges, etc.

The owner is expected to bear such costs, conventionally. There should be definitive clause regarding any deposits given initially prior to renting the house.

The legal agreement should clearly state the refund of such deposits when the lease is terminated. This also includes any deposits towards electricity bills, telephone bills, etc. Clauses defining what happens if this expectation is not met also need to be in place.

Usually security deposits that are not refunded within seven days of the expiry of the lease are liable to be refunded with interest for each day's delay.

Care needs to be taken to ensure the landlord does not indiscriminately retain funds from the deposit for supposed damage to the premises, etc.

Below is a checklist the landlord needs to bear in mind:

* Estimate the rental value of the place based on market value with some leeway for negotiation for the person willing to rent the place.
* Do a quick reference check of the person requesting to rent the place. Place of employment and designation are good reference points.
* Be specific and clear about the time period of the lease.
* State facts regarding furnishing upfront.
* Keep all critical documents that refer to the credentials of the premises in tact and handy for verification.

Here is a quick check on associated aspects

Signature on the lease agreement: Ensure either the owner or a person who is the authorized signatory for the owner signs the agreement for it to be valid.

Accounting for furnishing: Make sure the lease agreement includes all fixtures and furnishings with an cost estimate of the same also specified.

Plumbing check: This needs careful scrutiny by the person who rents the place. There should not be any malfunctioning or leakages of the plumbing systems and maintenance costs for the same should be included in the entirety of the lease deal.

These issues have to be discussed upfront before the agreement is made out, which gives either party to opt out if a common ground is impossible to attain.

Some last words

The usual term of the lease agreement is around 11 months with a notice of 2-3 months for either party to terminate the agreement. Notice clause is a must. The lease can be renewed every 11 months based on mutual consent.

Also, there should be a clause that allows you to retain possession of the house till the any dues that the landlord owes including deposit refunds are cleared.

Be clear about any clauses that denote the breach of contract and see you are well protected.

The tenant should also be covered under any circumstance where a sale, mortgage, transfer etc. of the apartment takes place. Here the notice period can be the saving factor, to help you make alternate arrangements.

As the tenant you should be protected against natural calamity hassles. If you have to relocate due to one, you will then not be paying rent for a place you cannot dwell in further.

Also, make sure there are other amenities like car parking, general maintenance, etc.

Ensure all legalities are in place and most important of all brush up your social skills to pave the way for amiable relations with your landlord.

The author is Head of Content & Research at BankBazaar.com